ban on assault weapons. why the house says not counting on congress. and a powerful new and nasty stomach bug is spreading like wildfire. but much worse. what makes it so different and so difficult to fight. and a brush with fate. a truck narrowly avoids hitting a toddler after ejected from a car, the heart-pounding moment, caught on camera. >> may be entitled to a lot of cash. did you know more than 58 billion dollars of unclaimed money just sitting there. some may be yours. >> it's friday, january 25th." "starting point" begins right now. good morning. welcome, everybody. our starting point this morning, waking up to brutal cold. arctic air system zierier zeroi the southeast. dangerous accumulations of ice will be brought to the carolinas, tennessee, georgia, alabama.

drivers in nashville, tennessee, being warned do not travel if you do not have to. out west, a rare freezing rainstorm triggered hundreds of accidents and forced airport runways to close. and new pictures from massachusetts. a car plunged through a frozen pond. bitter cold blamed for three deaths nationwide. alexandra steel in the cnn weather center and jennifer delgado in nashville this morning. jennifer, let's start with you. how does it look? >> i can tell you right now, we're experiencing rain and it looks like sleet mixing in. as we go throughout the morning, we'll see the potential for more freezing rain to develop. you can see the round is wet. this shouldn't come as a surprise after such a wild week of weather. frigid temperatures and record-breaking windchills continue to plague much of the country. >> horrible. freezing cold. >> freezing out here, man. >> and freezing rain and ice in

tennessee. crews armed with salt trucks are at the ready. >> 32 counties here in the middle tennessee area tdot will be keeping an eye on. we have enough people here to make sure roads are ready for rush hour in the morning. >> reporter: relentless rain in salt lake city forced the airport to close on thursday. some parts of the great lakes picked up between two and three feet of lake-effect snow this week, which led to the pileup in ohio. in new hampshire, brutal subzero windchills continue to plummet. precautions under way at this ski area to keep workers and patrons safe. >> give them hand warmers and foot warmers, rotate them out more frequently and allow them to come into their huts for breaks. >> reporter: a stubborn warehouse fire rekindled in illinois, leaving the structure looking like a massive ig lo. so cold in minnesota, that pipes

froze leading to this ice rink melting. >> everything runs through a condenser outside and that st t started slushing up on us. we couldn't get rid of the heat we needed toto keep cooling. >> reporter: it could be worse. windchills at the top of mt. washington, an unbearable windchill of negative 85 degrees. >> best way i've heard it described. think of yourself diving into a very cold pool of water. doesn't matter how much are you covered up, the air finds a way in. >> reporter: and, soledad, he's right. doesn't matter how well you are covered up, still bitterly cold outside. i want to point out, some locations to the east of nashville. eastern tennessee, as well as northeastern georgia, they could see a quarter inch of ice out there. that could be enough to take down some power lines or trees. now, here in nashville, expecting 1/10 of an inch. enough to make roadways slippery and, of course, temperatures right now below freezing and

expected to stay that way through late morning. soledad, back over to you and the nice and toasty studio. >> i don't want to even mention it. making me feel badly. >> yes, i'm bundled up and covering the hair up, trying to protect it. >> inside where it's nice and warm, we're feeling for up let's get to alexandra steel, a look where the storm is headed and when it ends. >> good morning, soledad. here is the big picture, the mitigating factor, why this won't be a big storm, we're lacking the moisture so here is a look at chicago. finally chicago getting into a little snow. chicago hasn't had an inch of snow on the ground since last february 24th. and i don't think they will pick up an inch of snow. started snowing, just some flurries. bigger concern is in tennessee and kentucky area. here is kind of that ice sweet spot. nashville, 30 degrees, maybe a little freezing rain. right here in knoxville. freezing rain falling there.

i-75 through knoxville. i-40 to charlotte. the freezing rain sweet spot for the next couple of hours, between 8:00 and 10:00 this morning. radar, 1:00, you can see where the ice is delineated. here comes the snow. washington, d.c., 4:00 beginning, 1 to 2 inches. new york city, picking up potentially an inch or so of snow. and a quick hitter, sol dd. today we'll see it, tomorrow a different story. a little bit of ice certainly in kentucky and tennessee, and that's the end of the as it pushes out tonight. >> thank goodness. thank you, alexandra. other stories, the white house making a big push to ban assault weapons. joe biden will be in richmond, virginia, to make the case for a ban, and the president also said to hit the road to promote the plan in a google plus hangout yesterday, the vice president said this about gun safety

yesterday. >> in california, everyone talks about the big earthquake or some terrible natural disaster as last line of defense. what do you say to those? >> i would say guess what? a shotgun will keep you a lot safer. a double-barrel shotgun than assault weapons in somebody's hands who doesn't know how to use it. even somebody who does know how to use it you know. it's harder to use an assault weapon than a shotgun. you want to keep somebody safe, buy some shotgun shells. >> and dianne feinstein has introduced a bill to ban assault rifles, including the ar- 15, the type used to kill the children in newtown. >> feinstein made her announcement in dramatic fashion. she had on hand the assault weapon and a lot of survivors of gun violence. it would prohibit the sale,

manufacturer, transport, and importation of more than 150 semi automatic weapons and ban large-capacity magazines with more than ten rounds of ammunition. she held out an olive branch to gun owners. >> the bill protects hunters and sportsmen by protecting 2,200 specifically named weapons used for hunting or sporting purposes. they are by make and model exempted from the legislation. when we did this bill in '93, there were 375. today there, are 2,200. >> does that make a difference with the nra? here is the response from the powerful gun organization. senator feinstein, trying to ban guns from law-abiding citizens for decades. surprising b surprising and disappointing that she is once again focused

on curtailing the constitution. she will have a tough ditime getting this through the senate. i think you were talking about joe biden, the vice president, his outreach efforts, we'll see more from the president as you mentioned and grassroots operations from the obama campaign. they realize they will have to take their case to the people if they have any chance of getting the bills passed through congress. >> an interesting strategy. if they feel like it won't happen in congress if around congress, get a grassroots groundswell going. could be effective. thank you, paul. a couple of minutes, we'll talk to richard feldman, president of the independent firearm owners association. a gun rights advocacy group. we'll talk to him about this proposal by senator feinstein. first, other stories making news for thus morning. we'll start in egypt, hundreds of protesters clashing with egyptian police in tahrir square, on the second

anniversary of the uprising that led to the outster of hosni mubarak. now they say that morsi is just one dictator replacing another. and north korea turning its anger toward the south. they warn of what they call physical countermeasures against south korea if they directly participate in u.n. sanctions against the north. they say the u.n. resolution passed earlier this week is equivalent to a declaration of war. we told you about the plan to allow women to combat positions in the military. leon panetta made it official. panetta sang the praises of women who are served, are serving, or paid the ultimate price. up in the next half hour. we'll speak with sfwlnzoe bedele of four women who filed a lawsuit challenging the pentagon

policy, and kingsley browne, who wrote "coed combat," a book against women in combat. frightening video. a 1-year-old girl ejected from a car during an icy crash in russia the child laying on the road and a huge semi truck barely misses her. here it is in slow motion. wow. the driver lost control of the suv while trying to pass another car. the child not strapped in, but instead sitting on a shelf under the back windshield. bad idea. the child suffered injuries to her head and face, but luckily is okay. >> look at this. right, the mom comes out and goes and picks the stuff out of the street, doesn't go to the baby, something weird about that video. >> disturbing all the way around there. she was on a shelf in the back. >> something very strange about that story. >> we have lighter news. big news for all "star wars"

fans. reports say j.j. abrams will direct "star wars episode seven." it follows "return of the jedi" and will be the first produced by disney, which bought lucas film last year and announced plans for a sequel trilogy. abrams behind the "star trek" reboot. "into darkness" will be out in may. on behalf of "star wars" fans everywhere, thank you. thank you for letting j.j. am rabz direct this. >> christine and i are very happy for you. >> don't pretend are you not excited. >> so excited. but like 20th on my list. not number one as it is for you. let's turn and get back to what we were talking about this morning. senator feinstein's new bill, that she herself is acknowledging likely to face a stiff battle. richard feldman, president of the independent firearms owners

association. also author of "ricco che"ricoc confessions of a gun lobbyist. >> good morning. >> what do you not like about what the senator proposed? what doesn't work for you about another assault weapons ban? >> it really is the animal house approach to legislating policy. we outlawed these guns 20 years ago. it didn't work then. why by putting american gun owners on double-secret probation, will it have any different impact this time around? instead of focusing -- >> go ahead, sir. i'm sorry for interrupting. >> instead of focusing on the gun, we need to focus on the problem, which is always in whose hands are the guns? >> isn't there some evidence that the ban did have some xwekt 20 years ago.

the updated assessment on gun violence, '9 4 to 2003. done by the university of pennsylvania. they found that the share of gun crimes involving automatic weapons in that period of time declined by 17%. on page 2 of their summary of finnin findings. that would indicate it did have an effect on automatic weapons. >> we're not talking about automatic weapons. those are machine guns which for the most part have been outlawed since the 1930s. less than 1% of crime is committed with the use of a rifle. this is pretty small potatoes in the first place. criminals used handguns, not rifles to commit crimes. when we zero in on the problem. two weeks ago when i was on your show after my meeting at the white house with vice president

biden, i said i thought we had a conversation and heard each other. in fact, earlier this week, the white house informed me they are putting $50 million into the niban budgetet for atf. national information ballistic information network. that goes against criminals, solves crimes, that's the kind of stuff we need to do in this country. effective things on criminals. >> the same report found, page 97, that the studies contrasting different kinds of attacks, more overall gun violence, when you look at assault weapons, more persons wound ed. this is the type of weapon you grab when you want to do a massacre of people. why would you ban something that showed a 17% drop in the study

which no one disputes the study? >> well, that's -- there are other studies that show that nothing significant occurred during that period. and crime rates in general going down during that period. and, again, the focus has to be on in the hands of the gun. if i don't use one of those guns, i can use a different gun. >> in massacres where people are is shot multiple times and newtown is excellent example of that. the everyone of 11 shots per child. those are the kinds of weapons they are talking about. so i guess there is indications in the reporting that it's not -- let's not talk about gun violence, talk specifically about assault weapons. it does work when they are banned. the report shows that. >> soledad, this bill doesn't ban the guns, 35 million of them in existence. over 100 million high-capacity

magazines out there. what will leave an impact on the future ban of those magazines and guns on criminals or crazy people? zero. nada. instead of listening to the american people and doing something related to the problem, senator feinstein is resorting to the old politics of the gun issue and not ziering in on the problem. >> we'll see exactly how that debate goes as we move ahead. richard feldman, president of the independent firearms owners association. i would like to have a longer debate about this. i think there is a lot that americans aren't necessarily on one side or the other. >> i look forward to it. >> all right. manti te'o opens up about the whole fake girlfriend hoax thing. why he kept it going even after he knew e was fake and then there is that voice mail, the voice of lennay.

we'll play the tape. lennay doesn't exist. we'll play it for you, and you can tell us what you think. in business news -- >> disaster averted, barely. we're learning more about boe g boeing's battery problems and how dangerous this could have been for travelers. (announcer) make mornings special, with fancy feast mornings gourmet cat food. mornings are delicious protein rich entrees with garden veggies and egg. fancy feast mornings. the best ingredient is love. or that printing in color had to cost a fortune. nobody said an all-in-one had to be bulky. or that you had to print from your desk. at least, nobody said it to us. introducing the business smart inkjet all-in-one series from brother. easy to use. it's the ultimate combination

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yes, the girlfriend was fake. but he says the pain was very real. manti te'o opening up. the notre dame star, a football player, tells katie couric he has some regrets, but he was telling the truth. here is cnn's george howell. >> reporter: manti te'o involved any involvement in the hoax about the online girlfriend he never met, a woman we now know never existed. >> either you're the most naive person on the planet, or this is the saddest story i think ever written. it goes on and on and on. >> yeah. i thought that. >> this web of lies. >> and i thought this is -- how could all this happen to one person? and i had my -- i had my doubts. >> te'o says he got a phone call in september, telling him his girlfriend died of cancer. then in december, before the heisman trophy ceremony, another phone call saying she was alive. but te'o didn't change his story. >> at the heisman trophy

ceremony, you were interviewed and repeated the story that your girlfriend had, in fact, died of cancer. that's a lie. why would you say that? >> at the time i didn't know. let's be honest with you. i did not know. >> reporter: couric asked for proof of an intimate relationship. and te'o provided phone records, even voice mail. >> i love you and i will talk to you tomorrow. i love you so much. >> have you no idea who the voice on the other end of the phone was. do you think that might have been a man on the other end of the phone? we >> well, it didn't sound like a man. it sounded like a woman. but if -- if he somehow made that voice, that's -- that's incredible. >> reporter: te'o says this man, ronaiah toiasosopo, called him to admit his part in the hoax. the same man whose voice may

have been on those voice mails. he also learned the identify of lennay kekua was a picture of diane o'meara, a 23-year-old marketing executive that never met te'o. they both knew toiasosopo. the biggest regret is the impact it had on his family. >> the greatest joy in any child's life is to make your parents proud. the greatest pain is to know they are experiencing pain because of you. >> it was the interview that left a lot of people scratching their heads. some who find sympathy for what they heard. others, not so much. throughout the interview, te'o insists he believed his girlfriend was real and he insists he was not part of a hoax. >> a crazy story, isn't it? >> it's interesting. >> it really is. we'll talk about diane o'meara next. the woman, of course, whose

picture was used as the lennay. the fake girlfriend. we'll talk to her about that and what the fallout has been for her. first, a man squatting in a 2$2.5 million home, and police cannot stop him. we'll tell you why the law is on his side. that's ahead.

welcome back. i'm christine romans minding your business. stocks looking higher. wall street will closely watch earnings from honeywell and proctor & gamble. starbucks shares rise 2g% after the company posted earnings in line with estimates. many americans missing out on billions of dollars in forgotten cash. the government and other organizations are holding -- get this -- $58 billion in unclaimed cash and benefits. from abandoned stock accounts, bank accounts, safe deposit boxes, unclaimed life insurance payouts, forgotten pension benefits. states try to find the owner through websites, even booths through state fairs. a lot of money is sitting in the states. every year, funds left in state coffers unclaimed. >> i will watch over that.

>> one thing for families, talk to your grandparents and parents about what they have safe deposit boxes. >> i can tell you from personal experience that someone gets ill and all of a sudden you are doing detective work to track down. >> the $58 billion they left behind. the medicine they are taking, where the bank accounts are, and all of it -- do it early. >> dear honey, this is what i have and where it is. i love you. powerful new stomach virus. john berman has up close and personal story about that one. we'll tell you seriously why this one is so different. why it's tough to fight and also tips to prevent it. coming up next. a reporter learns that animals and live tv, never a good mix. >> oh! >> yes, that goat got the last laugh. we'll tell you what happened. back in a moment. >> she's laughing too. are easy to remember with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card. earn 1% cash back everywhere, every time. [ both ] 2% back on groceries.

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[ male announcer ] end your long week... with a weekend getaway. save up to forty percent on all weekend hotel stays. book by january thirty first at hiltonanyweekend.com. welcome back, everybody you're watching starting point. will cain is back. richard socarides. former aide for president clinton. we'll talk with marine captain zoe bedell and author and professor kingsley browne. they have different positions on

whether women should serve in combat positions. and later this morning, "the shred revolutionary diet." i guess i thushouldn't have had candy bar for breakfast. >> that's not having a baby, right? >> also this morning, nothing is worse than having someone describe the details of a ssicks they had, but apparently this stomach bug going around, is the noro virus. i'm sorry. gross. but this is how people identify whether or not they have this thing. elizabeth cohen in atlanta. why is this one so nasty this time around, elizabeth? >> soledad, it is the perfect storm for this particular stomach bug. so let's go over the three things that make this one really bad. first of all this particular strain, so new, it's called the

sydney 2012. first spotted in sydney just last year, we're not immune to it. our bodies haven't seen it before. it comes on full force. highly contagious. just need one or two particles of this virus to get you sick. and a lot of people get this illness, they are contagious, but symptom free. they are not sick. running around making the rest of us sick. >> so disgusting. you know how i feel about those people. elizabeth cohen, thank you. listen, she and i agree on the purell thing. the southeast getting a dose of the deep freeze with snow, freezing rain and dangerous ice expected from the carolinas to tennessee. even farther south. drivers in nashville, told don't travel if you don't have to. out west, the rare sight of freezing rain forced the runways at salt lake international airport to shut down for a time.

and portland, oregon. a dog rescued stuck out in the ice on a frozen lake, 40 feet from show it took a while to reach mango. but mango is now safe and sound. this just in to cnn. live pictures from tahrir square. 29 people injured during clashes between protesters and police as two years marked since the revolution. people watched as people took to the streets. two years later, egypt has a new leader, but how much has really changeded? we're live near tahrir square. what's going on there right now? >> reporter: john, clashes taking place at this hour. earlier clashes took place as well. 29 people injured. minor injuries, mostly cuts and bruises according to the health ministry, important not to blow these out of proportions. we have a street a few blocks

from tahrir square that leads to the interior ministry. police have erected a barrier, we have police on one side, protesters throwing rocks, and police responding by firing teargas, sometimes police are throwing rocks as well. probably not a tactic they learned at the police academy. a few blocks away, tahrir square mostly calm and ordinarily. crowds not huge, but starting to grow. a few thousand people at this hour. two years ago, egyptians started an uprising that led to the toppling of hosni mubarak. they came to tahrir square and other locations in egypt. we want our personal freedom, political freedom, a better way of life and the end to the mubarak regime. mubarak did step down. two years later, many egyptians not happy.

what you have throughout the day, the secularist, moderates, liberals who claim that current president mohamed morsi and his support of the muslim brotherhood have hijacked the revolution. >> in cairo, so many egyptians two years later want stability in their lives. thank you very much, reza. a murder mystery that turned washington, d.c. upside down, a brand new development in the shandhand i shandra levy murder. defense attorneys want a retrial. they say prosecutors withheld important information about a witness. we don't know which one. but defense attorneys say the government had the information during trial. 30-year-old igmar guandique is serving a 60-year sentence after being convicted of first degree murder in 2010. a 23-year-old man living in a $2.5 million mansion by the water in boca raton, florida, and not paying a dime.

andre barbosa, doing some very posh squatting. this house in foreclosure and empty. he moved in. police say they can't boot him, because no one saw him break in, and the neighbors not one bit happy. >> walking into a house? that's crazy, and the point of not being able to get him out is even crazier. >> so florida law apparently allows the squatter to move in, claim the title. he needs to stay there seven years, pay the property taxes and hope the owner, bank of america in this case, forgets about the place. i'm no lawyer. that sounds a little sketchy. we have pretty tough interviews on "starting point." nothing quite like this. a local reporter goes into an animal pen. see what happens. >> from the manatee county fair, linda carson, abc 7. would you not eat my pants? ahh! >> can we see that again about 100 times? >> not quite the same without

the wonderful scream. >> she was at the manatee county fair reporting a story about kids who raise goats. she was completely fine. she was laughing, which is why we can show it again and again and again and again and again and rejoice in its overall awesomeness. >> i have to agree with will. the audio makes the story. >> and the smile on her face at the end. learning more this morning about problems with boeing's batteries that the ntsb investigation is focused on. christine romans with a look on that. richard quest in davos to explain a little about that as well. christine, you start with me. >> we can see the picture of this charred battery on a boston plane. the ntsb, giving us an up close and personal look at the battery involved. no battery should look like this. the ntsb trying to get to the bottom of an engineering mystery. remember, the faa allowed boeing to use lithium ion batteries.

the light fuel-efficient plane is supposed to save airlines a ton of money on long-haul flights. no dreamliners in the air right now. boeing says we're working this issue tirelessly in cooperation with customers and the appropriate regulatory and investigative authorities. it is still a mystery. the ntsb laying out this charred battery,ingi reporters what they are digging into. >> richard quest is in davos. beautiful behind you. tell us about the presser? pretty remarkable. battery charred, on the table. >> oh. the pictures are absolutely remarkable of what the battery looked like and not only that but also the damage that took place to the electronics bay at the same time when that fire broke out. but the serious part in all of this is what the ntsb chairman

debra herdsman said. she basically made it clear there had been a fire, sign of a thermal runaway this is when the battery starts getting so hot it keeps getting hotter, which gets hotter and hotter, u.s. a destructive force and went on to say there had been evidence of molten electrolytes spewing out from the battery. two incidents like this, she says two fires or two incidents with the lithium ion battery. that's why this is so serious. take a listen to the chairman. >> we know the lithium ion battery experienced a thermal runaway. we know that there were short circuits and we know that there was a fire. the work that we continue to do will tell us why these things happened. >> reporter: now, it is the seriousness of that that is, of

course, called the question -- called the whole dreamliner into question and its safety. and that's why boeing and the ntsb, now at least four investigations in different parts of the u.s., and in japan, looking at those batteries, and crucially there is no date yet for the return of dreamliners into service. >> that's the big story right there. richard quest, thank you. appreciate the update. ahead this morning, the ban on women in combat has been lifted. is it a safe plan? we'll talk to captain zoe bedell and kingsley browne. two people with very different opinions. back in a moment. [ female announcer ] what if the next big thing, isn't a thing at all?

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some widespread praise but also criticism over a new decision allowing women to fight on the front lines in military combat roles. we'll take a look at both sides of the issues. kingsley browne author of "coed combat," a book about why women shouldn't serve on the front lines. and zoe bedell, one of four women that sued the pentagon to allow women to serve in combat. >> thank you. >> why are you against this? you think women shouldn't serve in combat positions. why not? >> no, i don't. one of the problems obviously is the physical problem. everybody recognizes there is really very little overlap in physical capacity between men and women. and the -- the -- the announcement says that as long as women can meet the applicable

qualifications. the military never been willing to impose rigorous -- the same rigorous physical requirements on women as they do on men. so the question is if this is a gender neutral standard, in order to get any significant number of women to pass the standard will have to be reduced. >> i understand -- i'll stop through if you don't mind. i understand that everyone says it would give everyone an opportunity to try to meet those standards, before i get to zoe, she has a lot of experience in this clearly. you said physical differences and also said psychological differences between men and women. what do you mean? >> well, there are quite a number of -- average differences. not that there's no overlap. men are substantially more inclined to take physical risks to expose themselves to the risk of harm. more physically aggressive. that is, willing to impose violence on strangers. and so those things are

obviously things that are relevant in ground come pat. primarily what we're talking about. >> let me stop through, i want to bring in zoe. you heard about the physical limitations of women, and psychologically too. you were part of this lawsuit. so do you think he's wrong? >> there certainly are physical differences and some women can't do the job, just like some men can't do the job. we're looking for an opportunity for everyone to try to meet the standards. i don't think the military does have a history of lowering the standard. i think we have ten years of experience that suggest the opposite. and for the sort of mental attitudes, ten years of experience suggest women are volunteering to go join the military, to serve in afghanistan and iraq and are doing a good job while they are there. >> kingsley, back to you. there are 200,000 women active in the military. do you think women don't want the opportunity to serve combat

roles. >> surveys show a lot of women don't. most men don't either. the likely number of women who will be interested and will qualify is very small. it will lead to pressure to reduce standards. >> let me stop you there. you said it will lead to sort of the military changing the rules, lessening the rules to get the number of women up. if women can't make the standard, you believe the military will drop the standard. where are you getting that from? >> the military now imposes substantially lower standards on women than men. men are required to do three times as many pushups as women. required to run faster. a 20-year-old woman can be slower and weaker then eer than 50-year-old man. the standards are very different right now. the question, whether you will impose the same rigorous

standards on men and women for example, for infantry, and the british ministry of defense found 1 in 1,000 female recruits and 1 in 100 female trained soldiers have the capacity of infantry and armor. >> doesn't that make the point -- well, let's get back to zoe. then wouldn't that be the tiny fraction of women -- >> we are not asking for a quota. we want the opportunity to compete, and the other thing, the standards that women are meeting are necessary to do the job, and that's what we're asking people to evaluate. what is necessary to do the job and give everyone a chance to compete for it. >> two debates going on. one on the physical limitations or standards, the conversation we're having right now the other is the concept of unit cohesion, that somehow a fighting force is more effective when it's cohesive. and the argument is that a fighting force of all men is

better able to bond. you enter in a woman, you have sexual attraction. >> sex, period. >> is there not merit to that argument? >> no. those are the same arguments that people made when we were integrating the military, looking at the repeal of don't ask, don't tell. all of those units still working, very strong. and the question is, are -- are you leading the unit? are you meeting a mission? training everyone to the same standards? women are in units. again, not a new concept. women are already serving and doing a good job. >> kingsley, last quick question. i'll read from the colonel. the army is not a sociological laboratory. to be effective it must ensure success. experiments are a danger to efficiency and would result in ultimate defeat. is this what you are saying? >> i think it's true with respect to ultimate defeat of the united states in a war, i

think it's likely to occur is the defeat of the united states in small battles which means people will die. now, we're talking about sex, and it was sort of disputed that there was going to be -- sexual distractions, but large numbers of women fail to deploy because of pregnancy. something caused that pregnancy and my guess it was sex. it was a -- >> i want to go back to the quote i read you. a guy in 1941, and that argument was about not allowing black people in the military. exact argument of why blacks should not be allowed in the military, a danger to efficiency, discipline and morale and will result in ultimate defeat. sounds like -- >> well, that's a pretty weak analogy, though. race and sex are different. race is, of course, biological. that's why black parents have white children. >> same argument, though. >> but the reason for the exclusion of blacks had nothing to do with the biological

differences, it had everything to do with the social construction we put on them, the view of white superiority. >> cohegs of the unit. >> segregated -- segregated sc segregated bathrooms, segregated drinking fountains. >> cohesion of the unit. >> no one thinks segregation of bathrooms by sex is wrong or that it's wrong that we have a women's nba, that's not apartheid, so the argument about race is different from the argument about sex. >> it's the same argument about cohesion. it's exactly the time argument about cohesion. >> except you could get -- blacks and whites interact the way they do because that's the way they've learned. >> 1941, that was the argument. i'm out of time so i have to stop the conversation here so forgive me for interrupting you but we will continue this conversation, because obviously it's something that people are still arguing over. appreciate your time, both of you, thanks for being with us. still ahead this morning we want to drop two sizes in six

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so we're 25 days into the new year. have you already broken your resolution to lose weight? dr. ian smith has a new book, number one on the new york times best seller list, called "shred, the revolutionary diet" six weeks, four inches, two sizes. nice to have you here. >> good to be here. >> what is the philosophy? >> you eat every three hours,

keeps your metabolism revved up, diet confusion, where you change the type of food that you eat and the volume to keep your metabolism revved so you're not always eating the same food. >> i don't feel like i have to lose any weight but if you were to do a diet c going to the gym? >> people have lost weight on shred, 5,000 people, those who lost the most weight were exercising. if you want to maximize weight loss and beyond that live longer and be healthier you need to have physical movement about 35 minutes four day ace week. >> people fall off diets all ti time. >> 80% stay on diet four weeks and then fall off. this is about making lifestyle changes people love. you eat good healthy, regular food, you don't always eat perfectly. you can have bacon and pancakes for breakfast. >> i had a candy bar this morning. >> we witnessed that.

>> people say they love the plan because it is realistic. i don't ever ask people to eat perfectly because i don't eat perfectly. i ask you on balance to eat better not perfect and people love that. >> how do you maintain a good attitude about a diet. >> the way to maintain a good attitude you're incorporating something into your life not for the short term but you're going to eat a piece of fruit every morning for breakfast, you'll have a smaller dinner rather than huge steak and potatoes. if you realize incorporating this benefits not just you but your family and the benefits are outrageous you'll stay on the program. shred delivers very fast results but not just for the short term, for the long-term. >> can you use this if you're diabetic? >> diabetic, vegetarians, ve vegans, it's flexible. >> how much fast food can i eat? >> i'm not against fast food. >> just say no. >> no, because fast food places have some healthy stuff. you can have burgers on the

program. can you have it every day? absolutely not. >> he's a big run sore maybe he could have it every day. >> you couldn't run off 3,000ic3,000 calories a day, unless you run around manhattan twice, no disrespect to you. >> rude good morning. >> the book is called "shred, revolutionary diet: six weeks, four sizes. ". bundle up before you head out today. he's so far rescued his neighbors from burning buildings and helped folks shovel heavy snow. newark mayor cory booker doing it again, he saves man's best friend. we'll tell you what happened, ahead. ♪

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quite possibly the most advanced luxury sedan ever. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial services. good morning. welcome, everybody. our startling point this morning, it's going from bad to worse, ice, snow, freezing rain adding to the bitter cold and causing some big problems. schools closed, flights canceled. also the new gop reince priebus fights to keep his job. can he reinvigorate his party? she is the face of the manti te'o girlfriend hoax. diana o'meara is here and reacting to te'o's big interview. and matt damon's revenge, after years of getting bumped by jimmy kimmel the star bites back and it's hilarious.

new hope for a stronger economy in housing, new numbers about to be released plus interest rates are on the move. i've got everything you need to know. coming up, mel martinez, former rnc chairman and hugh panaro and sierra boggess, stars of "phantom of the opera" which has hit a big milestone. it's friday, january 25th and "starting point" begins right now. hello, welcome everybody. our team, will cain is with us, cnn contributor, columnist for theblaze.com and richard sackrides and john berman sticks around and christine helps us out with business news. the dangerous deep freeze, snow, ice, freezing rain expected in the southeast today. in the midwest the arctic blast created ice, what would you call

them, big piles as high as 12 feet, wisconsin a long the shores of lake winnebago. lake-effect snow dumped as much as six inches in syracuse and other parts of new york, temperatures around zero. rare freezing rainstorm shut down salt lake city's airport for a time after a plane went sliding off the runway. this gets us to alexandra steele standing by at the cnn weather center. jennifer delgado is in nashville, tennessee, where she's kind of freezing. jennifer, how are you doing? >> reporter: i am, i think that's a good idea, i'm freezing outside and of course it's raining, we're still below freezing and here in nashville road crews have been coming over here filling up their trucks with salt and brine and getting the roads ready because morning rush hour is under way, and some of those elevated passes are going to be dealing with some black ice, of course, we're talking about the threat for more freezing rain as we go through the morning hours.

now, this shouldn't come as a surprise, after such a wild week of weather. frigid temperatures and record-breaking windchills continue to plague much of the country. >> it's terrible. >> freezing. >> cold. >> it's freezing out here, man. >> reporter: and now freezing rain and ice in tennessee. crews armed with salt trucks are at the ready. >> we have 32 counties here in the middle tennessee area that tdot will be keeping an eye on. we will have enough people here to make sure that the roads are ready for rush hour in the morning. >> reporter: relentless freezing rain in salt lake city forced all of the runways at the city's international airport to close thursday. some parts of the great lakes picked up between two and three feet of lake-effect snow this week which led to this pile-up in ohio. in new hampshire, brutal sub-zero windchills continue to plummet, precautions under way at pat's peak sky area to keep workers and patrons safe. >> we give them hand and foot

warmers, rotate them out frequently and allow them to come into huts to warm up for breaks. >> reporter: in the midwest a stubborn warehouse fire rekindled again leaving the structure look like a massive igloo. it's so cold in minnesota pipes froze, leading to this ice rink melting. >> theverything runs through a condenser outside, that started slushing up on us so we couldn't get rid of the heat to keep cooling. >> reporter: it could be worse. wc windchills at the top of mt. washington is negative 35 degrees. >> the best thing to describe it, diving into a very, very cold pool of water. doesn't matter how covered up, the air finds a way in. >> reporter: and of course we heard that minus 85, our jaws drop. i have to tell you it feels balmy in comparison to what they

felt like in new hampshire yesterday. keep in mind everybody still needs to pay close attention if you don't need to be on the roadways don't go out there because there are still going to be icy spots out there. soledad back over to you. >> thanks, jennifer. let's get to meteorologist alexandra steele for the forecast. good morning. >> good morning, hey you know the video showed, what are those calls, those ice chunks off lake winnebago. >> what is that? >> they're called ice shoves. >> ice shoves like shoved by the wind. >> like shoved by the wind. i'm going to shove on over and show what you we're looking at. here is the big picture, you can see where the snow is, it's light, looks like it's heavy. it's light, chicago just getting into the snow. chicago hasn't seen an inch of snow since last february 24th and i don't think they'll get it here. south of that here is where the biggest problems will be, eastern kentucky and eastern tennessee that's the bullet where we'll see the ice today and it's freezing rain. nashville 33, just rain there, knoxville, so traveling on 75

from chattanooga to knoxville and east on 40 towards charlotte that's kind of that ice or freezing rain bull's eye and an ice storm warning has been put in place for that area in eastern kentucky and tennessee. we will see snow. friday today, of course this afternoon. here comes the snow, washington, d.c., around 4:00 or 5:00, one to two inches of snow perhaps, maybe in new york city later than that, about an inch of snow and soledad it all pushes eastward, it's a quick hitter, moves out today. by tonight it's a done deal. the cold air in place. the moisture isn't, that's why it's not a bigger hit than it could have been. >> thanks, alexandra, appreciate it. john berman, other stories making news? >> at 11:00 a.m. vice president joe biden kicks off his road tour to push for an assault weapons ban that, after democrat dianne feinstein introduced a bill thursday on capitol hill, feinstein saying enough is enough. the bill would ban the sale and

import of around 150 types what have she calls military style guns including the ones shooters used in the newtown tragedy six years ago. first threats against the united states and now north korea aiming toward the south. it warns of what they call "physical counter measures against south korea if they directly participate in u.s. sanctions against the north." the statement says seoul is just a puppet to the west and the u.n. resolution passed earlier this year is equivalent to a declaration of war. newark mayor and probable senate candidate cory booker is at it again. earlier this yearbooker ran into the flames and rescued his neighbor from a burning building, then remember this, the snowpocalypse? booker and staff responded to tweets and bounced around newark shoveling the streets. now the mayor is being credited with saving a freezing dog who was stuck out in the cold. he saves dogs, too. he responded to a local reporter's tweet after she spotted the dog outside

shivering, mayor booker found one dog and loaded it into a police car, they called the dog's owners to tell them it was unacceptable to leave the dog outside in the cold for so long. this is happening as booker is facing withering criticism from frank lautenberg, the current democratic senator who booker indicated he wants to replace one way or the other. lautenberg said there's a lot of work to do in newark that should have been done that hasn't been done. >> he was talking about spanking. we'll get cory back here to talk about the rescuing of small animals and talk about the senate race that could be a little bit of a tough race if the senator decides he's not having it. john, thank you. it is time to rebrand the gop, that is the message from republicans, right now the republican national committee is holding its winter meeting, taking place in charlotte, north carolina and today the chairman, reince priebus, will lay out his vision for party and also going to ask members to elect him for another two-year term despite what was a poor showing on

election night for the gop. bobby jindal, the louisiana governor, laid out a number of areas where things have to change. it was blunt, listen. >> we have to stop looking backwards. we must reject identity politics. we have to stop insulting the intelligence of voters. >> senator mel martinez, former senator from florida, also a former rnc chairman, nice to have you senator, thank you for being with us. >> good to be with you, good morning. >> give me a sense, i appreciate that. there's a website requesting feedback and recommendations. walk me through how that will go and what kinds of feedback and how you take that and turn that into some real change. >> well i think first of all of a great reassessment taking place within the party and i think it's very healthy. i thought the governor's speech last night was very much on point but i think the entire tenor of this meet something one in which we're taking a deep look inside and i think that's a

terrific thing to do. i'm quite encouraged not only by the website and the fact we're reaching out to people to input because i think we've lost the ability to communicate well and i think that's a beginning but i think also this group that has been impanelled including someone from florida that i know very well, sally bradshaw and ari fleischer, they're terrific people and they'll lead an assessment where the party needs to go forward from the political standpoint. >> there's a guy named glenn mccall, he said there are large portions of the population, african-americans, hispanics, asians, young voters, who simply don't know us. we have to change that. my question for you, is it that they don't know you, meaning you as the gop or they know you and they decided they don't like you? >> look, i think there's a xh

communication gap and our job has done a poor job reaching out to the particular groups. it's communicating a message. particularly amongst hispanics there's not a rejection of entrepreneurship or economic growth or a government that is not so intrusive or concerns about schools that don't work and want to see an educational system that really works for all children. these are constant themes, entrepreneurship is a very strong value within our hispanic community. >> there are some other things that are not, can i show the poll, because i think you're right, i think the things you've ticked off there's no question but on some other things you might say are core to the gop message, i think you're going to have a challenge, for example, taxes, right, when you poll people, you see 69% say they favor raising the tax rate on people $250,000 and higher and i think that was obviously a big sticking point for people in the gop, also if you take a look at, there was a question reduce

government programs for people like you, 48%, nearly half people and more than those who favored it said no, they would oppose reducing government programs and obviously lots of conversations with the gop about the size of government, so does that mean that you take the assessment and then you change policy potentially? >> no, i don't think you change principles but i think you change the conversation. we shouldn't be talking about protecting the wealthy from raising taxes. we should be talking about a tax code that promotes economic growth, and that lifts all boats. tax code that is fair for everyone and promotes economic growth, it's going to create more jobs, it's going to create better jobs t will allow people to move into the middle class so the bottom line it's about taxes, it's about an overbearing government but it's really about how we communicate it. are we really protecting a certain segment of taxpayers or are we looking to have a tax code that promotes economic growth. it's a great history in our party of people like a jack kemp who knew how to speak to folks

in a way that was really understandable and reached every man and i think that's what we have to get back to, that rhetoric, that kind of conversation that really reaches people where they live, that it's about jobs, it's about opportunity, it's about the rising of the american dream. >> senator mel martinez, former rnc chairman and former florida senator nice to see you as always. thanks for talking with us. >> thanks. still ahead on "starting point," manti te'o had a say talking about his fake girlfriend. now we hear from the woman whose face it was to pull off the hoax. we'll be back in a moment. what's next?

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try snapshot today -- no pressure. all right some new details about that bizarre story about the football star's fake girlfriend, notre dame's manti te'o spoke to katie couric about the deception that tricked him into believing lennay kekua, the girl he loved and then mourned was real. >> it didn't start to pick up until my junior year and it was just, since i didn't meet her and i didn't see her in person, and she just seemed nice and from the pictures she seemed

very beautiful. >> well, that girl of course lennay decue with a didn't exist, the real face is of diane o'meara and despite the photos that were sent to te'o she says she's never met him or even communicated with him. she's with us this morning. nice to have you. >> good morning. >> how has your month been, crazy? >> crazy. definitely unexpected and it's difficult to wrap my head around this and to realize that my true identity is going to be hard to take back. >> you never heard of manti te'o, you've never heard of notre dame football, never heard of bcs game? >> right. no, i don't follow college football and definitely don't follow college football girlfriends, so i would have never known. i literally found out last monday. >> has he called you to apologize? >> manti called to confess if he

did. >> he's presumed to be the mastermind of the entire thing, tuiasosopo. this is before the deadspin article came out. >> at first he tried to go around in circles and still lie about it, and then i basically said at this point i just want to know answers. >> what did he say? >> he confessed he had been taking my photos for the past five years and the past year and a half, since 2010 he's been portraying this lennay kekua relationship with manti. >> the guy who perpetrated the hoax and dedicated so much time to it, you are the closest we have to knowing him. what kind of guy is he? >> is he crazy? >> did he tell you why he did it in. >> he didn't explain why. he simply explained he wanted to portray a different life and clearly through my face is the most disturbing thing.

>> he made up an alternate life and living out this -- >> what else did he say about that, his life, was he -- >> he seemed like i said i don't know him real and he seems happy, smiling all the times, seemed religious. >> how did you know him at all? >> he went to my high school, graduated a year after me and since then i hadn't heard from him, since he contacted me in december, and involved me pretty much in this whole thing. >> one of the many bizarre things is a story in "the new york daily news" it was his voice on the other end of the phone with an my te'o. from what you know of this man, could he have ever disguised his voice to sound like a woman for three years? >> that's a bit shocking because having heard rainaih's voice it's hard to imagine a high-pitched voice. >> i hope the future is better for you than the last month. >> the main lesson i learned is

that there's a lack of production in international privacy and i wrote an op-ed piece in the "l.a. times" that talks about it's very important to realize who your facebook friends are, treat them as you would a real friend that you would contact on the street pretty much. >> you become the face of identity theft in a lot. diana o'meara, thank you, we appreciate your time. still ahead cnn is watching your money. if you're in the market for a new home, interest rates we have news about that. and matt damon and jimmy kimmel antics.

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what are you doing? we doth offer so many discounts, we have some to spare. oh, you have any of those homeowners discounts? here we go. thank you. he took my shield, my lady. these are troubling times in the kingdom. more discounts than we knoweth what to do with. now that's progressive. welcome back to "starting point," i'm christine romans. watching your money this friday morning, stocks are said to rise today, the dow, the s&p 500 are not far from five-year highs. microsoft shares are down in premarket trading, sales of its windows operating system rose last quarter for the first time in a year, thanks to the release of windows 8 back in october,

that was not good enough for investors who wanted more. new home sales are due just after the opening bell, they're already at a two-year high. analysts expect today's data to show sales rose higher in december. home sales, home prices have been rising and so have mortgage rates a little bit. the 30-year fixed rate mortgage at a four-month high, just want all of you refinancers to know. next to your house your choice of major is your most critical long-term evidence. not all college degrees are created equal. technical majors got the highest paying jobs, according to the new stud fy from the national colleges. four out of five are engineering degrees, starting salaries $60,000 to $70,000. john berman is shaking his head. >> we're sitting at a table full of humanities majors. >> law school.

>> mama, don't let your boys grow up to be cowboys or liberal arts guys. first new look at the new movie, ashton kutcher in the lead role, it's about steve jobs. >> this is freedom. this is freedom to create and to do and to build and artist, it's individual. >> look, you're overreacting, even if you were developing this for freaks like us, and i doubt -- >> that's josh gadd playing co-founder steve wozniak, so that scene when they talk about the first operating scene not even close to how it happened. >> he said he wasn't even there. >> that's the opening volley how that film is going to go. everybody is talking about jimmy imle's face-off with matt damon. matt showed up and took over the entire show. >> let me ask you guys this, as an audience, is it weird to see a person with actual talent host this show? every time i got bumped off this

show it left a mark, but if you bump a man long enough, a night will come when he bumps you back. and tonight is that night, my friends. i am in command of this ship. [ cheers and applause ] >> matt damon and jimmy kimmel. they run it on all the taxis in new york city so my kids are the biggest jimmy kimmel fans. >> that was a cameo by ben affleck and ten other big stars in the cameos last night. >> they did that for the whole show? >> it was hysterical. still to head on "starting point," women on the front lines we'll continue as promised to talk about it and some of the media backlash about it. who is speaking out against it and who is for it. let's go. ♪ ♪

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"starting point," coming up in this half hour the defense department is lifting its ban on women on the front lines. celebrating 25 years of "phantom" on broadway, starlz of the show are with us this morning. first an update on the day's top stories, john has that for us. >> thanks so much, soledad. the frigid temperatures and windchills that have gripped the country moving into the southeast today, exposure to the brutal cold is blamed for three deaths nationwide. two people in sudbury, massachusetts, close to my hometown are lucky to be alive after their car fell through a frozen pond. one of the occupants is hospitalized. police don't know why the car ended up in that frozen pond. scary moments for a dog who found himself stuck on the ice in chicago's south side. rescue crews had to sedate the dog to move the dog to dry land. he is luckily safe. a second suspect has been charged and arrested in connection with the shooting in lone college in texas.

trey foster was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. another 22-year-old carlton berry has also been charged. three people were wounded. to egypt, at least 35 people including six police officers have been injured just this morning during clashes between protesters and police in cairo on the second anniversary of the uprising that led to the ouster of ex-leader hosni mubarak. today they are focused on mohamed morsi. a new strain of noro virus has reached the u.s. through australia, thanks, australia. the bug can'ted for 58% of last month's stomach flu, causing nausea, forceful vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain. doctors say new strains have the potential to increase disease because people haven't been exposed to it before. so this little stunt could cost a pilot his license.

>> woo! >> oh, my, so that happened over the weekend in lancaster, texas. the faa investigating the pilot rightfully so, jason newberg. he said the stunt was well planned out but officials say he did not have a wafer and they think he broke the ruled prohibiting pilots from putting people and proper in danger. that's crazy stuff. trading your stinger for a double chin. the new orleans hornets will be known as the new orleans pelicans, the tenacious defense of the new orleans pelicans, the swarming -- the nba team officially announcing it will change its name to the pelicans, which is the louisiana state bird. >> i know but why. >> new team colors, red, gold and blue. the hornets relocated from charlotte in 2002. >> why change the name? >> it doesn't sound ferocious. >> hornets sounds ferocious?

you want to get hit by a hornet. >> the screaming pelicans, fight, pelicans fight. >> i like the hornets, i root for the hornets when i'm not rooting for the knicks p. i don't get it. >> now i will also root for the pelicans. let's talk about the raging debate after leon panetta lifted the ban on women in combat. some conservatives and right-leaning media figures are against the idea. here's what they've been saying. >> i think we just put the cart before the horse. >> inevitably going to change unit cohesiveness because sex is inevitable. eros is a powerful and irrational passion. >> the people we'll meet on the battlefield will be race and sexual abuse. >> howie kurtz, and lauren ashburn, contributor for "the

daily beast" and editor-in-chief for daily download. welcome. >> thank you. >> what do you think, dave fromme and i have had many talks on issues, he says rape and assault is what people face in the military and this is one of the reasons why women should not be in combat roles. what do you think of that argument? >> i disagree. i this i this is about equality for women. this isn't about feminism, it isn't about sexual assault and rape. this is about women being able to do the same thing that men are doing, as long as they can come up to the physical standards that men can, these are women who want to be there. it's their duty, they tell me. >> the argument though as you know is not only the physical standards and will was leading the conversation about that. >> leading? >> well with a very -- >> leaning from the right. he was leaning from the right. >> he was leading from his position which is of the right but there is an argument that is not the physical, that is also

the sort of, you know, does it create a tenor or tone that somehow is a bigger problem? will, lay out your position. >> lauren would grant you her premise t is about equality for you but there's a greater goal, creating the most efficient and good fighting force that we can and part of that is creating a cohesive uniit to accomplish a singular goal. when you introduce sex into the equation you're venturing into the great unknown. >> general david petraeus who ran the war in afghanistan. he had a lot of time for sex, did that impact the afghanistan war? >> i think that's an excellent point. will, can i tell you -- >> this is off topic. >> unit cohesion is one thing and military effectiveness is one thing but when you talk about sex, the two don't really equate. what you're really making is a moral and cultural argument against this. you're saying from a cultural -- >> no i'm not. >> it s you're just using code words. >> howie, help me here break up

this fight. the cohesion argument is an argument we hear a lot. i was talking to a guy earlier, back in 1940s the reason not to bring african-americans in was a cohesion argument. >> i think the counter argument, this is a decision made by the pentagon and the defense establishment. the counter arguments i think fall short because there already are and have been for a decade women in combat just as there were gays in the military long before the policy was lifted and don't ask don't tell got thrown out. personally i don't have any problem with this, you look at the coverage, three stories in "the new york times" including an interview with a woman who was in combat it's how great this is and we haven't really except for the couple of clips you showed given much in the way of attention to those who are not comfortable with this decision. >> daily download we did a piece saying this, quoting somebody

from "the national journal" -- >> "national review." >> sorry, who had brought this up, the media will most likely spend, 75% or 80% of the media will be in favor of this, and that is the coverage that will be dominant. >> isn't that partly because it seems to me there are not a huge number of voices against it. >> exactly right. one of the most interesting stories is few people on capitol hill, almost no one in the active military saying this is a bad idea and in some cases that's undercovered on television, where we have put a lot of people on tv saying this is an awful thing when notwithstanding will who has the arguments that are perfectly rational but in some cases you have to look hard to find these people who are objective. >> so howie's point about the conversation and the debate you should check some of the assumptions from which you're operating. you qualify david frum who is not crazy and i'm bringing an opinion, element of the debate

represents an extreme minority and i'm suggesting those assumptions are not true. >> did you support gays in the military? >> my opinion on gays in the military is similar to this. i am not in the military v not served, that being said while you bring up david petraeus i thought you were going to bring up was his opinion on this, not his personal exploits. we should take the entire military ground to leadership. >> did you support the integration of gays in the military? >> i outsourced the opinion to the military. >> so you thought that was okay but this is not okay? >> you seem to be signing me a conclusion which i am not making. you understand i'm bringing -- >> i asked if you supported it or not. >> gays in the military, yes or no. >>'military thinks it's advantageous to -- >> you're not going to say yes or no. >> put him on oprah. >> what you're imposing on this debate does not do it a service. >> you quoted tucker carlson the

conservative -- >> feminist latest victory, the right to get your limbs blown off in war. congratulations. >> as i said t is not feminism. it is all about equality. there is a great book coming out called "undaunted," it follows the lives of four women in combat, one who left behind a 2-year-old and a 4-year-old, this is a non-traditional woman who says that it is her duty, it is her calling, her family is military, and damn it, she's going to be there. >> at the same time some women also care about looking good. it's not necessarily a polar opposite between getting into the trenches and the women. >> there's' great story about hairspray, the buns that the women have, have to be three inches and have to be perfect, so all of these women have to ing cans and cans of hair spray to afghanistan, but you know it's a great book. >> we have to wrap up this debate but i love when you're

all fighting. guys nice to see you as always. appreciate it. ahead this morning, 25 years and counting, the most successful show on broadway, we're celebrating a quarter of a century of "phantom" stars are here to talk to us about that, we'll talk to hugh pabaro and sierra boggess, she plays christine.

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♪ ♪ the phantom of the opera inside my mind ♪ oh my gosh i love broadway

so much. "the phantom of the opera" is hands down the most successful show in the history of broadway, 25 years the longest running show, here it is the numbers, seven tony awards including best musical, 10,000 performances since it opened in 1988, seen by 15 million people grossing over $850 million, the stars of "phantom" join to us talk about the milestone, hugh panaro and sierra boggess. >> good morning. >> revenues bigger than $5.6 billion. "titanic" was $2.2 billion. "avatar" $2.7 billion. what is the magic of "phantom" that rakes in the dough basically? >> i always say the score is the first thing that i always have to talk about that andrew lloyd weber wrote, one of the most gorgeous, lush, romantic scores written and everyone knows it. it's amazing. people who haven't even seen a

broadway show know "the phantom of the opera's" score. >> how many times have you played the phantom? >> i've been called what i call the people on the internet, i don't count but i think about over 1,800. >> i read now nearly 3,000 times you've played phantom. >> you know i think that is when i was younger i played raul, the other part so they've mushed me all together. >> let's go with 3,000 roughly performances of "phantom of the opera." is there a point where it becomes so second nature while you're out there acting you're like ooh, i need to pick up bread on the way home or every day it feels different and engaging? >> i think the beauty of live theater you have a brand new audience every single night and you have children who may have never seen a broadway show before and it's their first, you know, foray into musical

theater. i feel like we have almost a job to keep it fresh no matter what because we might be inspiring that future phantom or christine. >> let's play "music of the night" one of my favorite numbers. let's play that. ♪ let your soul take you where you long to be ♪ ♪ only then can you belong to me ♪ >> okay. >> turns out they can sing pretty well. >> apparently. >> amazing. >> i did so well. >> you sounded so good. >> my best. >> a lot of people love

"phantom" and congratulations on all the success and something that theater snobs love to hate a little bit. >> what? >> jealous party of one, jealous party of one. >> there you go, best answer. >> when they did "les mis" the musical as a movie did you think that's brilliant or did you think those people can't really sing well. >> i saw it in london. >> i haven't seen it. >> any time we create live theater and they're creating film it's a different genre but if that brings what we do to more people then -- >> do you think that would get people to say i loved it in the movie theater, now i want to see it on broadway, does it help or make people feel like i've seen it. >> i think it helps. >> chicago has had a movie as well. >> "phantom" had a movie. >> "phantom" had a movie and ticket sales, yes, because people want to see the original as well. >> how long have you been in

your role as christine? >> well, i haven't done 3,000 performances but i did the vegas production which was this brand new upscale like shooshed up production in vegas in 2006 for a year and then i did the 25th anniversary in london because "phantom" turned 25 in london a couple years ago. >> so do you think it's time to break out christine, she's so sweet, lovely, naive and your next role is miss hannian, crazy over the top drinking during the show, is that how you map out your career? >> i definitely don't like to pigeonhold myself in one thing so yes, it's good. i've gone away and done very, very different things to christine and then come back and now i have a whole new feeling about christine. >> congratulations. >> 25 years, $5.7 billion, 1,800 personal appearances, those cannot be understated. >> how much longer can it go?

>> you know what, i think -- >> another 25. >> absolutely. >> come on, bring it. >> we were just talking, there are people who saw the show when it opened who have brought their children and now actually are bringing their grandchildren. >> it's so great. >> it's literally become like this generational rite of passage. >> i love that. so great, i love broadway. i love new york. >> we love you! >> thank you. >> great to have you, congratulations. >> thank you so much. >> thank you. >> we have to take a short break. still ahead, he's 9 years old but he's taking on the issue of hunger, raising thousands of dollars, we'll tell you the inspirational story behind that young man, straight ahead. ♪ (train horn) vo: wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life.

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welcome back to "starting point" everyone. john berman with today's top stories. brand new twist in the chandra levy murder. defense attorneys say prosecutors withheld important informati information. a sheriff's deputy dragged, he was trying to handcuff a shoplifting suspect, the guy drives off, dragging the deputy with him. the deputy is okay and the suspect was later found hiding in his attic, is he being held without bail right now. very controversial new abortion bill, under the bill a victim of rape of incest could be charged with a felony if she gets an abortion. republican state lawmaker catherine brown sponsored this bill but she says she never meant for victims to be punished. brown says she meant for the law

to help prosecute rapists who force women to have abortions to cover their crimes. she insist the problem is the wording used when the bill is drafted and she's working to straighten this out. soledad? >> john, thank you. a lot of people want to change the world but there's one little boy who is 9 years old and he's actually doing it. three years ago cnn hero will lorsi saw a man asking for food and thought he would be able to help. they're doing it in their hometown in a really big way. take a look. >> one day when i drove home from a little league game i saw a homeless man with a cardboard sign that said "need a meal." so i told my mom i wanted to do something. >> will lorsi is a 9-year-old child. i hesitate to call him child. i think he's in a category of his own. as a 7-year-old he decided he was going to take on theish you

of hunger. >> welcome to f.r.o.g.s. it means friends reaching our goals and our motto is having fun while helping others. i want to you write what we could do for a spring project. >> let's big personality does not come from me. >> fire me up, pepper me. >> i think every time you meet will you look at him and you say, are you kidding me? but together with his buddies, they have raised over $20,000 or the equivalent of 100,000 meals for tarrant area food bank. >> lamb from india. these peaches are a delight. >> when you see somebody who gets so engaged and gets the community engage it's the endorsement of the battle we fight to end hung per. >> thank you for your time and remember no matter how tall or small you are, you can make a big difference. >> got to love that kid.

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oh my gosh the two are getting along, i'm very afraid. time for "end point," eenie, meenie, mineemo, richard. >> i thought the interview with senator martinez was interesting. >> flattering me, you should keep doing that. you think the rebranding? >> i think he wouldn't really answer your question as to whether or not are they re-branding their old ideas the republicans in this effort or going to change some of their ideas. >> will cain let me can you that question. >> i really like that necklace to start off, it's been catching my attention all morning. >> god, i like this.

>> re-branding the republican party, you played a clip of bobby jindal saying we cannot engage in identity politics. i take issue, the debate over women in the military or combat, it has nothing to do with identity or quality, it's a different debate, about the best military, i want to have that debate there. can we have that debate, that's the one we're forwarding. >> there's a ton of people would say it is about identity and equality and maybe it also is about the best military and all those things cannot be separated out in order to have a debate thaw want to have on one front. it's about all of them. >> let's do them one at a time, start there. >> for another day. you get the last 20 seconds. >> this is the last day before we kick into the horrible super bowl into the har bowl, cane/abel, romulus/remus. my boys are perfect and they get along every nute of every day.